National teams to take 26 players to the 2026 World Cup

1. Argentina have to bring Barco,Panichelli, Anselmino and Equi Fernandez, they can take the team to another level

2. Even though i don’t have any exceptions in this World Cup yet it is hurt to see they put Argentina 5th or 6th favourites behind even Varzil. Like the disrespect is REAL for defending Champion and back to back Copa Champion.
   As far for squad my biggest concern is our fullbacks still. From LB & RB only Tgala is reliable other are so so and Scaloni didn’t find any solutions yet to be fair. We do have problems at wingers too hopefully Mastantouno get better as time goes and mature too. Now from Midfield I feel like Paredes,Lo Celso and De Paul only two should go. Paredes is in great form so I believe he will but rest of two i don’t know how I feel yet! Scaloni needs to surprise us all with a shocking discovery of a RB and LB coz we are clearly lacking in this position. As for winger we are ok not great that also defends how Simeone & Mastantouno season goes. I would take Rivero any day for Licha backup. This kid is something else. I have no problem with Senesi however i don’t like his 1v1 approach plus he is slower then Rivero. Let’s wait for 5th December coz I believe the squad will be definitely based on the draw.

   • Picking 2 out of Paredes, Locelso and Depaul will be extremely difficult for Scaloni. He will definitely take all three. Mastantuono is doing great in Madrid! If he is judged based on goals and assists then there is room for improvement but so far overall he has been way better than expected. He has earned his coach’s trust and benched Rodrigo! Just needs to take more chances and improve in the final third otherwise his decision making and futballing iq is amazing for a 18 year old.

     • Yeah I have high hope for him coz i remember he was picked by our national coach even long before he went to Madrid so must be something they saw. Plus when Alonso trust you means you doing something right. I hope he sharpen his goal scoring ability coz we need this . Apparently he gain 5kilo weight to fit in the La Liga physique without sacrificing his agility and quick reaction so it shows this kid is hard working

3. Barring any injuries, these should be the players with a 100% chance of being selected by Scaloni and the team management:

   Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martínez, Gerónimo Rulli, Walter Benítez
   Defenders: Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Otamendi, Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, Nicolás Tagliafico, Juan Foyth, and Senesi/ Balerdi or both of them.
   Midfielders: Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo De Paul, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Leandro Paredes
   Attackers: Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez, Lautaro Martínez, Gio Simeone, Nico González, Thiago Almada, Franco Mastantuono, Nico Paz

   The 26th spot could go to a left-back, central midfielder, or forward, depending on who impresses Scaloni and the balance the staff is looking for. But our squad is pretty much confirmed!

   • Valentin Barco has a chance I think, since he can play play CM, AM, DM, LB, LWB, LWF

   • Yup that’s very likely the list, except I’m not sure about Montiel and Mastantuono. Also I think Medina (when he returns from injury) will be selected for backup LB.

     2 things to note:
     First, the odds of Argentina winning back to back world cups are very, VERY slim, I mean the last team that did was Brazil in 1962 and back then you had to win 6 games to do so while now it’s 8 games i.e. much harder.
     Second, with the above list I truly doubt that Argentina can make the QF let alone win it. The RB and LB selection is lacking to say the least while the only legit DM in that list is Paredes (the others are all CM) and while Paredes has played very well in recent WCQ games when it comes to tournaments he’s been lacking. He was getting benched by Guido for most of copa 21, he was an absolute no show in ’22 and he was sub in ’24 (although his cameo in the final was pretty good).
     So, needless to say Scaloni needs to find himself a RB, LB, DM and someone to take Depaul’s place (likely next to Enzo and Mac) in the midfield 3 and judging by all the recent games we’ve seen I don’t see Scaloni having any intention of doing so.

     • Equi will definitely go to the 26 Squad as DM but I feel like De Paul and Lo Celso bond with group making it tough for coaching staff however I am sure Scaloni will take tough decision when he has to

   • Third striker is very important now, I don’t believe lautaro in big games,

     • Toro scored last Copa Final. I believe he did score before this Copa in Semi too. Last World Cup was nightmare for him coz of injury. And I think we do have 3rd striker and he is quite good even tho he plays in Brazil

4. With 26 players, if we consider 3 GKs, then 23 outfield players, assuming we take 8 defenders, 8 mids and 7 attackers – how would the squad look especially the defence? Not considering our preferences and just going by how scaloni & co. think, without injuries I think 5 in defence are already locked – Molina, Cuti, Licha, Ota and Tag. We have 3 more spots, the coaching staff have considered and readied Balerdi for the 4th cb role, so he will go. Now in the remaining spots ideally they would prefer people who can play cb or full backs like Facundo Medina and Foyth. I think the only real fight is between Foyth and Montiel. Lets see if Valentin Gomez can break into the squad.

   • Most likely squad now for the WC knowing Scaloni’s preferences and tendencies:

     Emi, Rulli, ???

     Tagliafico, Barco
     Otamendi, Cuti, Licha, Balerdi or Anselmino, Senesi or Rivero
     Molina Foyth

     Equi Fernandez Paredes
     De Paul Palacios or Lo Celso Enzo Macca
     Almada Paz

     Nico Simeone
     Lautaro Julian
     Messi Mastantuono

5. This probably makes it likely that players who can play in multiple positions (Foyth, Nico G, Medina, Simeone) have a better chance to be included.

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